Woodland Hills,
CA91367

I can’t believe I remember this…. On my first day, the movies that were playing there were: in the 1st screen was “Another 48 Hours”; 2nd screen was “Days of Thunder” and 3rd screen was “Ghost”.

Being smaller than the Fallbrook 7 (at the time) and UA 6, it was hard for this theater to receive the better films once Paramount stopped working with this theater. While the other Pacific Theaters received “Dances With Wolves”, Topanga 3 received it second run….

I also remember Cocoas & Ruebins restaurants being next to the theater. The irony… I moved from CA in ‘93… I flew back 1 month ago and both the theater and restaurants were demolished….

While working at theater, we all would play basketball on Saturdays, midnight bowling and other activities. Lots of memories….

I remember working there in 1984 and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom just came out. There was all this hoopla about being the first PG-13 movie and so many parents would ask us when they should shield their child’s eyes.

The other screen was showing Top Secret! and one of the trailers was for a movie called Streets of Fire where it was basically a music video for the song ‘Nowhere Fast’ and everybody used to stand up and dance to that song.

I WORKED THERE IN 1982 AS A UNION PROJECTIONIST. IT WAS A TWIN USING PLATTERS. JOHN COLTRANE’S SON RAVI DID WORK THERE IN THE SNACK BAR! HE DROVE A BUG WITH RAVI ON HIS PLATE. MY DAD DIED WHILE I WAS THERE. IT WAS A NICE PLACE TO WORK.

Awww now bittersweet memories as I watch more and more theatres and music/book stores from our youth disappear. The Topanga theatre I first saw Raiders Of the Lost Ark in 1981; back when your parents took you to movies you didn’t even know what they were going to be about. Later remember seeing Popeye, Nightmare On Elm Street, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors. So funny how these movie theatres are like churches or old friends. I am forever fascinated by these lost movie houses. So sad that Tower records across the street is gone as well.

Unfortunately I only have vague memories of going to the movies in the valley in the 70’s or early 80’s when I was a kid. I do remember seeing the Star Wars re-release in 1979 and Superman 2 in 1981, and I know I saw one of those at least at the Topanga. I was looking forward to visiting the furniture store and seeing the dining room sets sitting on the slanted floors and smelling the old popcorn smell, but I see now that I am too late. I have visited at least four theatres in California that were eventually closed and/or torn down, and it makes me sad to see a part of history fading away.

I saw “Midway”, Airport ‘77, “Shadows and Fog”, “The Dead Zone”, “For All Mankind”, “The Line King (not The Lion King) -The Al Hirschfeld Story”, “Logan’s Run”, “Gone In 60 Seconds” (the original one), “Law and Disorder”, “An American Werewolf In London”, “Stranger Than Paradise”, “Roger and Me”, “Prince of the City” and many other films at that theater. “Midway” was in Sensurround. “Roger and Me” was packed; very strange for a documentary. Everyone applauded at the end. “Stranger Than Paradise” was almost empty. It’s hard to believe that movie played in such a big theater. It was great to go there when I was a kid. The 70’s was the heyday of the Topanga theater. It felt special to be there for some reason. Still pass that intersection often.

The October 11, 1965, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that Stanley Warner’s new Topanga Theatre was scheduled to open on October 26 with the premier of “The Bedford Incident”. The regular opening would be on the 27th, with “Ship of Fools.”

The seating capacity of the new house was given as 1350, which would be in line with the other theaters Stanley Warner was building at the time. There’s a small reproduction of a rendering of the theater in Boxoffice, but it isn’t clear enough in the scan that I can read the architect’s name, which is not mentioned in the article.

Many fond memories of this theater in the early 80’s, I remember the long lines for new releases. I believe this where i first saw “Raiders” and “American Werewolf in London” and sat through them both twice in a row. I remember waiting in line for “The Dead Zone” and “Halloween III” after buying a stack of records near-by. Going to the miniature golf center next door and hopping the trampolines was a ritual as a child. Didn’t realize they were equipped with 70mm, this sounds like it was quite the happening place at the time, Kim Basinger used to hang out, Jackie Earle Haley applied for work,..wow this was the spot!

Drove by today, and there’s a new Crate and Barrel where the Topanga was that’s just about to open. There was a temporary circus tent set up behind it, so I couldn’t tell if the abandoned miniature golf course next to it was still there or not.

The one thing that I remember about the Topanga is that while the multiplexes were installing more and more narrow seats with huge cupholders (before they came up with the fold-up armrests), the Topanga’s seats were always nice and roomy.

For those of you who knew Horace Sun & haven’t heard, Horace passed away March 5th 2008 at the age of 41. He had a major stroke on February 28th. He had a page on facebook which you might be able to view.
He took me under his wing when I first started at Topanga in the mid 80’s & I had great fun working with him there. Farewell, my fellow fanboy & friend.

The Topanga Theatre when it opened it was part of the Stanley Warner Theatres chain. Pacific Theatres would buy the Southern California locations from the Stanley Warner chain. That fun zone park was just another tenant of the property and not part of Pacific Theatres.

On Friday night (9/21/2007), I drove by The Topanga Theatre and noted that it was being torn down. Have not been by there again since, but can imagine it may be completely razed by now. A real shame.

Does anyone know of pictures (or a web site) that exists out there, somewhere, with history about the amusement park this theater was (sorta) part of? Ya know…photos and/or notes from back when there was a huge fun slide, miniature golf course, etc.??

Would be sad to think that Topanga—the last existing piece of said fun zone—will soon disappear, and take all physical remnants of that former park with it.

A very young and beautiful Kim Basinger spent many an afternoon at the Topanga during the summer of 1978 watching The Eyes of Laura Mars starring Faye Dunaway. I must have seen her there at least 5 or 6 times as I worked that summer in the snack bar. If any former employees read this, I’ll never forget you! Debbie Brady, Leslie DiMascio, Steve Tish, John Hinkle, Andy Wiedlin, Adam Doban, Kathy and Karen Adams, what a great crew!

I was surprised to see former Topanga Theatre 1970’s projectionist on Larry King Live Monday. Alfred “Al” Beardsley, the OJ Simpson Las Vegas robbery victim worked the relief shifts back then, with husband and wife team Richard and Robin Smith as the primary projectionists. Beardsley was a young and rather quiet guy who kept to himself. I saw Woody’s name listed above, coincidentally, I just spoke to Woody today. He’s on his way back to NYC soon.

It looks like the structure is about to be torn down. The furniture store has vacated and they’ve put a barrier around it. It makes sense that it would be the first structure to be demolished to make way for the Westfield “Village,” the planned connector between the Topanga Plaza and the Promenade Mall.

I guess I’ll have to give up my pipe dream of it being bought and reopened by a benevolent billionare.

By the way, does anyone remember that much smaller theatre that was also located on Topanga, but either south or north of Vanowen? It was really small, and sort of upstairs from the street level. I can’t find it on this site because I can’t remember the name. I remember seeing “Billy Jack” there with my friend and his mother.

I remember during the early or mid 1970s, when the movie “What’s Up Doc?” (with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal) played there for what seemed like a year. There was a scene in the film where they take a ride on this messenger bike with a box on the front (kind of a backwards tricycle) that was a highlight of the movie. Someone from either the studio or the theate chain mounted a replica of it with mannequins of the actors to the corner of the roof. That thing stayed up there FOREVER! We lived in Northridge, but my mother would have occasion to go to the old Topanga Plaza now and then. My brother and I would be blown away when that diorama was STILL up there month after month.

I worked there from 1978 – 1980 and it was already a twin theatre at that point. Pacific Theatres ruined the gigantic 800 seat theatre #1 by making the Topanga into a triplex. All the employees knew about the room above theatre #1 – where employees drank and smoked after hours. Andy Wiedlin worked there, his sister Jane was and still is a member of The Go-Go’s. Oscar tidbit – Jackie Earle Haley applied for a job there in 1979 – he explained that he was between roles, he was not hired. I have great memories of those days when 15 employees ran the place and all became great friends.